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[Ghazkull]

Pantheon IV

OOC-Thread

The Aether. An endless eternal space, which only occasionally and locally springs into consciousness, each of these shards of consciousness awaken, expand, die and shrink once more. Sometimes the process is one of seconds. Sometimes one of Aeons during which these small bubbles of reality become home to a myriad of divine beings and their creations.

Sometimes however these universes awaken and stay closed, even as the press of vagabond beings grows ever larger it does not falter, it's veil stable beyond even the power of the gods. And so it was...Aeons had already passed with not a single god seeking refuge from the Aether as none were able to pierce the immensely strong barriers protecting reality in this place.

Suddenly however the barriers seemed to become more porous, permissible for beings to pass through. Those masses of Gods, Spirits and Divine beings quickly learned however that only a few specifically chosen could enter. And so time passed once more as many tried and failed to pass into this Oasis of Reality.

It was then when the first of the Gods forced his way past the veil. With immense strength he widened the poresand pushed himself through, closely behind him Phalanalin, who in her wisdom decided that this was her chance.

Thus the First two Gods had entered this Universe. Contrary to their expectations they could find no Overgod, no Pantokrator, nor could any of the two claim said position. In fact they felt an unknown presence, something they had never encountered before, which at once empowered and constrained them. It delineated them, reduced their abilities while granting them new powers. No longer where they omniscient or omnipresent but at least they were still gods.

As the two gods became more comfortable in their new positions, another entered through the veil: Ralkiesis. The God of Truth had seen many things in his eternity of being. He had not seen this. Yet still he saw the truth of the being which prevented entrance and so he had known that he was allowed to enter.

With him came something that had no right to enter, no right to exist at all in the Beyond, beyond the veil in the cold abyss of the Aether. a God-Machine, a divine construct. The Tutelspera. Created in some long forgotten universe it had rotted away into the abyss, somehow surviving the destruction or vanishing of its creator and taking on a divine spark of its own.

Finally as the last among the Great Gods chosen to be Rulers of this Universe, came Cerediron. Out of all the Gods he had spent the longest time in front of the Veil, considered it and ultimately he had managed to manipulated the Veil and change part of it, into a gate. Through his knowledge and craft he made himself an entrance. And when he had finally carved the last hinge into the veil which protected reality, Tartin shoved him aside and forced his way through the gate meant exclusively for Cerediron. The bull-headed god had no time or incilination to figure out the workings of the Veil and he had nigh-on grown insane waiting for the Craftsman to finish his gate, but now he was finally inside, safe, for now.

Cerediron, with the unending patience that only a Smith could develop, spent what felt like another Aeon on crafting yet another gateway for himself, before he finally too had entered the Universe.

_______________

It was truly a strange place, the Gods found themselves constrained, their very indomitable wills forced to accept the new realities. Some of them found themselves inexplicably linked together. In these early times it was that Lu discovering his connection to Tartin, decided to challenge him to ensure his dominance. After a struggle which itself must have lasted Aeons, Tartin found himself defeated. And once more he felt himself change; he had become lesser but just as well his essence had become oddly protected, changed. He now knew that he had become a part of whatever Lu was.

And so too it happened for Ralkiesis and the Tutelspera. Thought he two had no true connection or communication, they found themselves linked together by the will of that unseen being which seemed to control them all in some way.

And thus the First Four Houses rose:

The House of Might ruled by Lu, seconded by Tartin.
The House of Twisting Shadows, ruled by Phalanalin, for now alone.
The House of Truth, ruled by Ralkiesis, somehow associated through bonds inexplicable to the Tutelspera.
The House of Making, ruled by Cerediron, the lone smith.

Spoiler:  The Universe (click to show/hide)

Empty

Spoiler:  The House of Might (click to show/hide)

Lu
1 Great Act
1 Act

Tartin
1 Act

Spoiler:  The House of Twisting Shadows (click to show/hide)

Phalanalin
1 Great Act
1 Act

Spoiler:  The House of Truth (click to show/hide)

Ralkiesis
1 Great Act
1 Act

Tutelspera
1 Act

Spoiler:  The House of Making (click to show/hide)

Cerediron
1 Great Act
1 Act

[/i]

[NUKE9.13]

And as the gods entered REALITY, Phalanalin realised that her new home had nowhere to hide from the wrath of Lu, who would surely be upset that she had snuck in behind him- "I put in so much effort to open the way, and you just cheated your way in, boo hoo, it isn't fair", or something like that.
Besides, there were other gods as well, whose motives were unknown. The bull had allied itself with Lu, and would surely inherit his senior's irrational hatred for her. The mad one... was mad, and unpredictable. The sphere was unknown to her, and she was used to knowing all things, so this frightened her. The smith had spent two aeons crafting his way in, and might similarly be ill-inclined towards one who had thought their way in. And who knows what others might follow, each more violent and irrational than the last.

So it was that Phalanalin was the first to act upon the virgin universe. Fearing the gaze of the other gods, she summoned the darkness of her heart out of her chest, and wove from it an endless tapestry, which covered all things, hiding them from view. Deep within these shadows nestled the wise goddess, secure in the knowledge that none could find her- the fact that no one could find anything else either did not bother her.

Great Act: Summon/Create the Darkness, which suffuses the entire universe, making it impossible to see or sense anything. In the hypothetical situation that someone were to create some sort of light, said light would only be able to push the darkness back so far, creating an oasis within it, but leaving the rest of the universe as unknowable as before.

[Jerick]

In this oasis of reality there was nothing. It was singular, empty and perfect. But soon it would be polluted by creation, complexity and mortal delusion. Yet there was nothing wrong with polluting something. There is no real value in purity. Perfection in truth is an aberration. Reality will always move away from perfection. Imperfections will always diffuse into anything perfect over time. Similar to how the gods had leaked into this pool of perfect reality.

The Truth was always perfect.

It was incorruptible, uncontaminateable, an aberration unto even aberrations. Which made it all the more 'perfect'. It fascinated Relkieis immensely and always had. As the entity pondered the beauties and horrors of truth a veil of shadow was cast over the fledgling universe. So it had already begun.

It was his turn to pollute a little, he created a 'book' that recorded every event and true fact in the universe and keep itself updated. The object was different objects, different books to different people. Sometimes it was a polygonal shape with it's words carved across it's surface. Sometimes it was a slab adorned with shifting animated pictagrams showing how events had happened. Sometimes it appears as a book, it's words changing into different languages almost at random. Yet anyone looking at it can find the information they seek and any information they read they will know deeply and inescapably as true. So when mortals read of their insignificance, when they read things that clash with their volatile changing memories they can not ignore it or escape from it. Often descending into madness. When they read from the book of truth all the delusions that let them operate as mortal beings begin to be stripped from them.
Mighty Act: Create major artifact: Book of Truth (records all truth in the universe)

[Roboson]

As Lu wrestled with Tartin, a great darkness overtook the universe that he had pried his way into. As darkness settled, their battle raged, and Lu overcame adversity. His first battle had been won in darkness, and Lu knew instantly the folly of the sneaky god who slithered into this place. Lu's strength could not be damped by darkness, only the inevitable delayed.

Yet that hunt would have to wait. The darkness was infinite, and Lu had an eternity to stalk the far reaches of the darkness. Lu created fire and light. Travelling to the center of the universe, Lu crafted a shining beacon of fire and light,naming it Luar.

Lu creates  X Unusable Star Systems +  1 Usable Star System.

[micelus]

Spoiler: The Tutelospera waited and weaped and chittered and sighed and cried. (click to show/hide)

Code: [Select]

No suitable stratum found. Entering stasis.
The Tutelospera remains motionless, performing no Acts.

((On a sidenote, the renaming of the Tutelspera to Tutelospera is deliberate.))

[Madman198237]

Hmmm...So much emptiness...so much potential...But where? And how? And what? For what? Made of...what? Uncountable years of work, and the reward is raw potential. A fitting trade.

But first, a place to work.


Great Act: The First World
Suddenly, there was. Simple, unintended, imprecise, and yet, present. A first step towards something new. A giant, shapeless thing of metal and dirt and rock and every material that a God could imagine. Some places molten, some not. It settled in a second...or maybe an eternity, and turned into layers. Molten metal sank, rocks rose to the surface. And then it had shape, and was covered in things  But suddenly, had there been any mortals present, they would have seen raw disaster. A hammer stroke. And then another. And another, and where the hammer fell a new shape became apparent...

Act: The Second World
And the hammering continued, each strike, it seemed, deforming the First further, sending it back to shapelessness. And in an hour, an aeon, a single solitary moment, there was something else where the First had been struck. Another world. But it was smaller. Magic flowed from its every piece, and what was left behind was but a plain lump of average materials, though some specks, some secrets, remained within... And then, the Second moved. Hurtled in days-moments-aeons-decades-minutes to a place far closer to this new star.

And he named them Worlds, for a craftsman should always have a name for what he builds.

But the First World was not inert. From our perspective, Time exists, and everything is ruled by it. But for these newborn Gods, time was a concept yet unthought. And so the world was already formed in an instant, and the last remnants of the Act that produced so much swirled around it, and this First World was a maelstrom of magic and creation. Things were made and unmade on the surface, created by the nature of the House that made them, and almost immediately destroyed by the remnants of the great magic unleashed there.

[chubby2man]

Tartin was proud once, his strength unmatched and he terrorized all who he crossed paths with. But he was not the same after his submission to Lu. Tartin now sought to use his power to test the strength of others, and to add their strength to his house.

And so he made a fortress, floating around the sun his lord created. Hundreds of kilometers in height and width, there were hundreds of cavernous spaces which could house thousands of warriors. Towers sprouted from the great slab, bristling with weapons.

The fortress, called Tartarus, would be a gathering place for the great warriors of the universe, and those who would seek to become great. Those who came here would hone their skills, or die in the attempt.  /i]

Act: Create the Temple Fortress of Tartarus.

[Ghazkull]

Turn 2

It was dark. Not that it was any different than before. After all there had been no light before. But no a new concept had been introduced. True Darkness, more impenetrable than any mortal mind could imagine or comprehend. This was the antithesis of light. A suffocating abyss swallowing all. If one were to tread inside and not go instantly mad, one would realize that there was no sound within it. There was no sight within it. There was neither taste nor smell nor touch. All there was was the Darkness.

Even the gods themselves were not completely immune. This was Truth. For it had been written within the Book. A book created by Ralkiesis, a tome containing knowledge and wisdom not meant for mortals to know. A tome containing all there is to know about this Universe and beyond.

Truly the Gods sent to this place seemed as alien and horrible as one would imagine omnipotent beings with no morals to be.

And yet the first and mightiest of the Gods, Lu, went forth and brought light into the Darkness. The abyssal blackness receded before the warm rays of the sun. Thus Luar was born. A sentinel to protect the sanity of mortals within this universe, a lone shining beacon of hope in the incomprehensible.

More like it were born, but unlike Luar they were but pale imitations, struggling to keep the darkness at bay, always at threat to be swallowed up by it, never to be seen again. And indeed thus a struggle between the Darkness and the Light began, as stars winked in and out of existence. For everyone born another vanished into the stygian darkness.

For how long this struggle lasted none knew, for time was a foreign concept to those who were able to think within this universe.

Even as the Craftsman created the First Worlds and as Tartin crafted his own Temple Fortress, time seemed to be frozen. The workings of these gods had stayed all to impersonal. Devoid of love...devoid of passion.

But more than that, there was room for improvement. For the Universe was naught but a Stygian abyss, barely lit by weak stars in their futile struggle against annihilation, with the sole exemption of Luar and it's three Companions. As it stood this was no place for mortals to dwell within.

And so the Veil weakened once more and two newcomers were let inside. Immediately they found themselves surrounded by a sheer impenetrable claustrophobic darkness.
And yet these new Gods were different than those that came before. For even they had not been immune to the machinations of whatever intelligent power was pulling the strings, and so they found themselves even further weakened than any of the other gods. Yet it did not feel wrong, it seemed like merely the fundamental laws of reality were upheld.

And so a new House was founded, the House of Acter.


Acter and Varalin enter the Universe
Lu creates Luar the Sun.
Cerediron creates a Planet and a Moon
Ralkiesis creates the Book of Truth
Phalanalin creates the Darkness an all consuming and impenetrable barrier.
Tartin creates the Temple Fortress of Tartarus

Spoiler:  The Universe (click to show/hide)

The Darkness: A sense depriving universe covering barrier, against which even the Gods are not entirely immune.

Luar - The Sun
The First World
The Second World
The Temple Fortress of Tartarus

Spoiler:  The House of Might (First House) (click to show/hide)

Lu
2 Acts

Tartin
1 Act

Spoiler:  The House of Twisting Shadows (Second House) (click to show/hide)

Phalanalin
2 Acts

Spoiler:  The House of Truth (Elder House) (click to show/hide)

Ralkiesis
2 Acts

Tutelspera
2 Acts

The Book of Truth - A mighty Artifact which records any and all Truths of the Universe

Spoiler:  The House of Making (Elder House) (click to show/hide)

Cerediron
1 Act

Spoiler:  The House of Acter(Younger House) (click to show/hide)

Acter
2 Acts

Varalin
1 Act

[Glass]

One might think that it was impossible for the universe to be improved on, when it was comprised of, essentially, nothingness. But the lack of anything to be improved upon is, in fact, something that always needs improving.
This was what Acter thought as he looked upon the vast nothingness of space.
The was work to be done. There was room for improvement. There were things that needed doing.

But nothing could be done if there were no time to do it in, or if there was no-one to do it.
So he made both them, to give reality something to truly improve upon.

-Two One Acts used - initializing time, and populating the First World with entities in Acter's image, driven to improve themselves in all fields-

No.
Acter saw in his mind's eye what would come of this.
And so, with the caution shown him by the winds of time, he quietly refrained from action.

But he saw what the others would think of this. No, it was not the right path.
So Acter made his people - marked indelibly with the sign of his form - and with them, made the World habitable. There would be air to breathe, plants to eat, water to drink, and all would be well, ready to be improved upon.
-Two Acts used - making the Actans on the First World - created with knowledge of the gods and of their power - and making the First World a safe place for them to live and improve themselves upon.
But time refused to change.

[AbstractTraitorHero]

For a mere moment as the divine being entered the world. They were still. Worryingly still. In fact, it was almost a dead still. Like their mind had stopped. It....kinda had. The shift, in reality, feeling natural certainly. But....the attachment to another and the sensations of this new place of feeling the power around them and of feeling the person next to them so closely?

They slowly felt themselves stirring consciousness fully returning to awakeness as emotions flickered and moved about inside them. Pure rage their body shaking as they felt it. Despair and confusion at feeling...feeling weaker and perhaps at this strange...subservience they felt towards their comrade. Love. Burning hot a desire to protect what was familiar and what they could claim as their own. All flowing in their mind in their head making them quiver as it slowly simmered and..excitement and eagerness overpowered their being.Eye's shooting open. Animatedly moving about rapidly before looking. At Acter. Smiling eye's shimmering with caring and the desire to talk and talk and talk.

"Acter! ACTER! ACTER! Where are we!? What are we doing? What are you doing?! Should I help? Do you want my help?
 I would be glad to help! Also you....feel strange as well? Right? Right? Can you feel it? The connection? The...feeling. The..quivering in your bones as excitement runs through your veins at something new? But yes. Yes yes. As I was saying how may I help?

Grinning tousling their violet hair blue eye's looking over Acter with glee. With excitement with revelry. She was all fired up that much was certain she certainly hoped to do some things here but as of the moment even her thoughts were a little scrambled up for her to think of something immediately. She would calm down to her normal level soon enough almost certainly though.

[Glass]

Eh? Ah, heh. Not sure anyone feels anything quite like you do, mate.
As for help, yeah, I got something you can help with. Y'see that world over there? Ima put things on there, things that can improve themselves. I just want to make sure they can actually live there, but I don't have enough juice right now to make it so. I believe, however, that you do, so, if you wouldn't mind, could'ja make this happen smoothly?

[AbstractTraitorHero]

Confusion fills their face at his wording for a moment before understanding flashes in their eye's. Thinking silently for but a moment.
 Before it came unbidden into their mind and they grinned unleashing their godly power and looking down at the place where her dear friend planned to land his mortals! For without such a habitable home they would surely perish.

It was then that they realized the foolishness of their companion! They had intended to place them on that volatile destructive first planet?! Anger flowed through them glaring at him smoldering looking like they wanted to strike him for a mere moment but held back just barely! Barely! The matter at hand! It excited her and made her feel warmth caring blossoming compassion and love for the idea of the small sentients that would be made. How they would amuse her and she would have someone new to meet every day! It...made her feel joy. So strong was this joy that her godly zapped out and hit the first world.

1 Act being used. Act below. An act is being used to give Glass's god a place to put his mortals safetly.

Her energy hit the first world and scattered bits of rock and parts of the planet upward suddenly godly energy propelling them around the planet and it was here that they were safest it was here were they would have the highest chance of survival above the maelstrom of magic that was the planets. Islands containing plentiful magic and moving around the planet.

"I call them the Islands of Passion and invention! Sound neat?"

[Roboson]

Lu was obviously dissatisfied with the actions of House Actor's gods. This is no true test of strength, simply a poorly thought out death. Lu then proceeded to make a *hurumph* sort of noise, which came out rather distorted through his giant beak. He contemplated for a moment, considering whether or not this should be a lesson for all the gods. A few moments of contemplation and another hurumph, and Lu had made up his mind.

Lu reaches down with his mighty talons, scoring and tearing the topsoil across the floating continents. As his mighty talons plowed the earth, like a farmer plows his field, a fertile wilderness sprouted. His strength was given to the mighty trees, his endurance to the flowing rivers, and his fortitude to the mountains. Air swirled around the islands and was rich with the smell of rain and earth. Lu's power gave the land strength to sustain itself and the creations of the silly gods. He looked upon the mortals and said  Be wary, while I am not your creator, I am your savior. Fear my wrath, for I have saved you once before you began. If you displease me, I shall correct this mistake.

Act: Provide the Islands of Passion and Invention with an array of life and natural resources so that they may sustain life

[AbstractTraitorHero]

The Goddess of Passion's head almost swiveled in surprise. Before they realized it. Realized their folly and realized their actions did not prevent the folly of their friend's actions. A rush of emotion. Shame. Disappointment. Rage. Despair all flashing across their face before it mellowed out and went into a tempo cascading upwards now and with it came the feeling of indebtedness. Strong and powerful overwhelming them relief riding along with it that their plans for the mortals had not been derailed so utterly to result in death due to their own incompetence. Something that even thinking about started to make her slip into a deep sadness. Meekly shaking it off.

A smile flits across their face and their voice rings out warm and full of gratitude their words genuine and honest.

"Thank you. I-I had errored and my friend had errored. I am grateful for what you have done and fixed...a...shameful display of incompetence on my part has been fixed thanks to you!"

[micelus]

Code: [Select]

Strata detected. Initializing RITE.
The sleeping form of the Tutelospera wheezed into motion.

 Old machines ancient and rotted, turned once more by the command of the abyssal god. With creaks and groans and wheezes and moans, the archaic projectile systems once commanded to manipulate Creation, now aimed at the Second World and its magical essence. The Tutelospera had thought of many Grand and Great things in the time-before-time and now it was time to put such things into Creation. The orbit of the worlds were modified; the Second made to court the First. Where by nature's law the month saw the moon become 'new' and 'full', the Tutelospera saw it fit that instead the moon ushered in an eclipse at the end of each month, lasting for the whole of the day.

Of course, besides the obvious natural consequences of such an action, the Tutelospera configured the eclipse to also rain the magic of the Second unto the First in arcane moonlight. This magic was wild and uncontrolled, doing as it did without heed to those affected.

However, the sphere did ensure one method for any future mortals to control their fates somewhat. The Sacrament of Firsts and Seconds.

At the start of each eclipse, scattered arcane leylines formed upon the First, creating perfect rectangular fields upon which pure spheres of the arcane condensed into form. Controllable arcane. A mortal unchallenged could take the essence into themselves and learn the ways of magic or make use of it to improve their flesh...if unchallenged. In the case of more than one mortal or creature contesting the field, the arcane field would enclose the competitors until a 'First' won glory (the winner) and a 'Second' was cursed (the loser). A winner would be declared by defeating their opponent in a ceremonial ball game that involved casting an arcane sphere into the opponent's 'hoop' with hoops being found at opposite ends of the field. Of course, the 'First' and 'Second' could consist of several individuals both divided into teams. In such a contest, the first to achieve three goals would be declared victor. Those involved in the Sacrament cannot directly harm their opponent and may not make use of tools but may make use of magic. At the end of a match, the field dissipates, leaving the remaining competitors unharmed.

In the week before an eclipse, illusionary constellations form in the night sky, which point toward the location of arcane spheres. While not obvious at first, those who learn to read the constellations could acquire a great deal of power.

With this idea, the Tutelospera shaped Creation to his desire.

1 Act: Configure the orbits of the First and Second worlds so that an eclipse occurs at the end of each month. This unleashes wild magic upon the world that cannot be controlled. Furthermore, this eclipse results in the formation of condensed, usable spheres of magic throughout the world. In the even that more than one individual/team discovers a sphere, an arcane field is formed, forcing the competitors into a Sacrament of Firsts and Seconds. The winners of the Sacrament will receive the arcane magic for themselves. In the week before an eclipse, illusionary constellations are visible in the night sky, pointing toward the future locations of the spheres.

((Originality is dead))